


Better

by Moonalight



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:02:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26333107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonalight/pseuds/Moonalight
Summary: Things aren't getting better. One thing after another, and the global pandemic is breaking everything. After a bad day Apollo ponders and slips into another's bed.
Kudos: 18





	Better

******  
Sneaking into another person’s bed wasn’t something Apollo did often. On bad nights he would usually just blast music from his headphones until he ran the risk of going deaf. It was much less humiliating, and much easier to hide. But things had changed in the last couple centuries. 

‘Hiding’ was no longer the name of the game. 

Seeing Zeus sitting on his throne, looking at nothing in particular and muttering musings that would chill the other gods to their cores. Or when Hera would laugh hysterically for no reason, then taper off to sobs as she broke down. Then there were the times Poseidon would just curl up on one of Olympus’ fountains instead of returning to the ocean, whispering about how much more beautiful the water was there. 

So many, many more examples to give. The point was, the world had changed and not for the better. And they all felt it. The emotions of their people affected them, altered them. As things got worse they got better at putting up facades. As they were forgotten they got better at becoming more memorable. As horrors assaulted them day after day they got better-

No. No, they didn’t get better at that. They simply stopped caring if anyone saw them in such states. They stopped caring because they all knew that the others were in the same boat. None of them escaped unscathed. 

So when Apollo bumped into a young girl, her whole life ahead of her, with scars crisscrossing her wrists and hollow eyes, and he knew he couldn’t do anything for her?

He went to the one person always there for him. 

“Hermes?” His voice was hardly more than a breath. A part of him hoped that the god wouldn’t wake up. If he didn’t, then he would have more time to talk himself out of being so stupid. He didn’t need to be here after all. It was just him being ridiculous.

“...Apollo?” Well, there went that plan. Hermes' voice was thick with sleep and exhaustion. He’d been busy that day with deliveries. Dealing with a global pandemic put a lot of stress on the gods as well as the mortals. Especially with all the blocked trade routes and sold out items, he was working overtime. 

Apollo had been really busy too. He was focused on helping wherever he could, managing the sick and rallying the medical professionals. He’d just been leaving a hospital when he ran into the girl. She looked so forlorn, and in the beginning she hadn’t even realized he was talking to her. If he wasn’t certain that it wasn’t the case, he would’ve thought she was a spirit escaped from the underworld. But he could feel the low heat of a thrumming heart inside of her. So mismatched when placed with her death-like appearance. 

“Bad?” Hermes understood. Of course he did, they understood everything about each other. They had both been through strain these last few months, last few years. It just kept getting worse and worse. Unlike the first time, when the god of messengers had nearly been startled into falling out of his bed when he showed up at his door, it was completely expected now. 

“Yeah...can...?” Apollo’s voice didn’t seem to want to come out. They didn’t need words though, not after how long they’d known each other. He understood in an instant what was being asked. 

“Just don’t wake me with the sun,” was the only stipulation he was given. It was the same every time, but he knew from experience that even if he did break that rule he’d still be forgiven. He always was. 

Hermes lifted the covers next to him invitingly, eyes already sliding shut again and preparing to sleep. He wasted no time scrambling across the room and crawling into the bed. It was comfortable, softer than his own. Or maybe it was just because the other seemed to get more sleep than him. Maybe he was just imagining it was more comfy than his. Either way, it calmed him.

The sheets and covers smelled like Hermes. Like fresh air, packing paper, and feathers. As always it helped draw away some of his hollowness. His mind focused on the man laying at his side as he pulled the blankets back over his body. 

Immediately he was being pulled into a warm embrace, face pressed against skin as Hermes drifted off. “Tell me in da morning,” he muttered, barely awake, “come back after sun...”

“Yeah,” Apollo yawned, curling into the warmth as his own eyes started to drift shut as well. Like Hermes tiredness was contagious, spreading to him as soon as they were in contact. Or maybe it was the human contact. He hadn’t been physical with anyone in a while because of the pandemic. 

Whatever the reason, he found himself falling asleep faster than he had in weeks prior. The girl shifted through his mind, taking a back seat as he focused on the growing darkness tugging at him.

She would still be there when he brought the sun. She, like all the others, would always be there. And that was something he had to accept. 

Because it wasn’t going to get any better. He was just going to become better at not feeling it.

**Author's Note:**

> Because I think these two love each other. Not just romantic, familial, or friend love. They are everything. And so some angst and silent support because it is needed!


End file.
